On the other hand, those one and a half years could leave an indelible impression on his identity. The battle of Maiwand certainly did on his body. Those wounds stayed with him for the rest of his life. Who knows? He could have participated in local skirmishes and faced situations where he had to defend himself and those under his care. If he had to kill someone doing so, it most certainly scarred him, especially given his humanism. It must have haunted him for years.
Returning to that book about doctors in WWI, many soldiers seem to have had a similar experience in the army: a prep course, then wounded in their first battle and invalided out. Harry Patch aka the Last Fighting Tommy, had a relatively short time in the army, but memories of it haunted him when he was over 100 years old.
ACD must have heard tales from the decommissioned servicemen who returned to England from Afghanistan. Since he didn't take his Holmes stories seriously, he didn't bother about getting details right, focusing more on action. It's rather ironic that his historical books where he did pay attention to details and for which he researched painstakingly are now virtually forgotten as they didn't have that sparkle of pure genius that Holmes stories possess.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2020-03-10 12:40 pm (UTC)Returning to that book about doctors in WWI, many soldiers seem to have had a similar experience in the army: a prep course, then wounded in their first battle and invalided out. Harry Patch aka the Last Fighting Tommy, had a relatively short time in the army, but memories of it haunted him when he was over 100 years old.
ACD must have heard tales from the decommissioned servicemen who returned to England from Afghanistan. Since he didn't take his Holmes stories seriously, he didn't bother about getting details right, focusing more on action. It's rather ironic that his historical books where he did pay attention to details and for which he researched painstakingly are now virtually forgotten as they didn't have that sparkle of pure genius that Holmes stories possess.